


Too little, Too Late

by Danger_Floof_Floof



Category: Biohazard | Resident Evil (Gameverse)
Genre: Angst, Gen, Shippy Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-22
Updated: 2020-10-22
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:35:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27143242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Danger_Floof_Floof/pseuds/Danger_Floof_Floof
Summary: Jake heard the news a few days too late.
Kudos: 11





	Too little, Too Late

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know where this came from but enjoy!

So far he had thanked everyone for helping to save the world (Leon had looked tired but gave a short chuckle and pat on the back while Helena and only smiled, small and pained) save for the two jarheads of the BSAA and as much as he didn’t want to see them, he knew he at least owed them a thank you for helping him and Sherry escape from that underwater hellhole. 

So he sought them out.

It didn’t take long for him to find the captain, he had taken a new team now since he had lost his other in China and was doing well for himself since coming back to the BSAA (Jake had heard all the excited gossip of the return of the captain and wasn’t even aware that the captain had left in the first place).

Jake had a run in with a blond woman who wasn’t at al impressed with his attempts to sneak into the base. She was kind though after hearing his explanation, and walked him towards Chris’ office where she told him he was looking over information for the next potential mission.

“How do you know Chris?” The woman, Jill, had asked, unaware of who he was. Jake would prefer it that way.

“I don’t,” Jake grumbled. “I just wanted to thank him and the other jarhead for saving my ass back in China and then get going. That’s all.”

And when Jill stopped walking, Jake knew she knew who he was. He groaned internally and waited for her reaction at meeting the son of the infamous Wesker. But instead of the usual shock or disgust like Jake expected, she turned around with a pained and unsure expression that Jake didn’t understand. 

“What?” he asked defensively because Jill looked like she was seriously reconsidering taking him to Chris. Which was fine because Jake could find his own way around this building anyways.

Jill hesitated, looked as though she wanted to say something, then her gaze fell to the floor.

“Alright,” she simply said and continued walking.

Jake followed but there was a sinking feeling in his gut that he couldn’t explain.

The words C.REDFIELD were on the door proudly and below it were small sticky notes, mostly all reminders, but some silly ones too. Jill creaked the door open and signaled for Jake to stay here for a moment before disappearing into the room.

While waiting, Jake decided to look through the notes, some were obviously old and hanging on just barely while some were freshly stuck on. There was a couple that drew his attention: A simple note that said “Don’t forget, Captain” followed by a small P.N underneath it, a time and then a check mark underneath it that was also signed P.N, and some more reminders and encouraging words all signed P.N.

Jake blinked and wondered where the soldier had gone. He would have expected to see him while on the way over here. Everytime he had seen the soldier in the past he had been beside the captain like a protective dog unless the mission called for otherwise.

A moment later, Jill came out of the room and held the door open for Jake. Jake said a quick thanks and walked in, the door shutting behind him.

Chris’ office was full of stacks of paperwork and smelt heavily of coffee. There were pictures on the walls of various people he didn’t recognize and filing cabinets that were wide open. Jake would have thought to snoop around had it not been for the look Chris was giving him.

“Uh hey,” Jake said awkwardly.

Chris stared, sitting back in his chair with a tired sigh. “Jake,” he said in greeting though it was not unkind, just tired. “What can I do for you?”

Jake took a seat in the chair in front of the desk, eyes scanning his desk for a moment. “Just came by to thank you for saving my skin back there.” Admitting this was not as hard as he had thought it was, the words slipped easy from his lips and he was glad of it. The last thing he wanted was to struggle with a simple thank you. 

“You and the puppy.”

At this Chris winced, an action that would have been barely noticeable had Jake not been watching him with curious intensity.

“You’re welcome.” Chris said, void of emotion and yet his eyes were tired.

Jake nods and looks around the room, half expecting to see Piers standing in the corner of the room, ready to pounce on him if he even lifted a finger to his beloved captain. But there was no sign of him.

“So where is he?” Jake finally asks because he has one last thank you and then he could go in peace.

Chris blinks, staring blankly at him before standing up.

“He’s not here,” he says and then after a moment's hesitation. “You said you wanted to say thank you?”

Jake nods and stands, ready to follow Chris to wherever the soldier was holed up in. Chris realizes this and opens a drawer, grabbing some keys, and walking to the door. “Let’s go then.”

And Jake follows. He doesn’t think he should follow his father’s murderer so freely (even though he could give a rat’s ass about his father) and all to thank a stranger nonetheless, but he follows. He ignores the stares he gets from the soldiers and follows until Chris gets to one of the military cars. They climb in and Chris wordlessly drives off in whatever direction Jake doesn’t care to pay attention to. The air between them is thicker than it was back in China and Jake wonders why that is. He wonders why it bothers him so much.

Finally, Jake cannot take the silence anymore and exhales loudly, getting Chris’ attention.

“How much further?” Jake asks, letting his arm hand out the window, feeling the air against his palm.

“Not much further now, he’s right down this path here.” Chris points to his right where a turn is coming up. Jake hums nonchalantly but as soon as they turn in, he feels himself tense. 

The path is clean but well used. On both sides is a white picket fence that leads down to a small cottage looking building but Jake’s eyes are on the rows and rows of white stone markers. He knows what this means, he knows now what that look in Chris’ eyes was earlier; it was the crushing grief of someone who had just lost someone dear to them.

They stop some ways up and Jake numbly follows Chris up a path and toward a huge oak tree that shadows some of the graves. The grave Chris stops at is directly under the tree’s shade and is decorated with assorted flowers and a small picture frame of a smiling Piers Nivans.

Jake wasn’t even aware that Piers was capable of looking so happy. All the time he had seen Piers, he had not once seen him crack a smile.

Chris knelt down, placing a hand on the white stone and then reaching in his front pocket to pull out a BSAA badge that was torn at the edges.

Neither said anything as Chris took a seat beside the grave and looked toward the horizon, the badge held delicately in his hands. A moment later, Jake joined him on the other side.

“I’m sorry,” Jake said, low and regretfully because losing someone sucked ass. He knew first hand and in Chris’ line of job, he knew losing someone was a common occurrence but there had been something almost invincible about Piers that made Jake believe nothing could get rid of him.

Chris sighed and fingered the torn badge. “Right after you and Shery left, we managed to escape that thing but we didn’t get very far until it returned and tried to sink us. Piers infected himself with an enhanced strand of the C-virus to save my life from the BOW. I tried to get him to fight past the virus and come with me but at the last minute— when we were in front of the escape pods— he tossed me in and shut the door.” 

Jake listened to the captain speak, watched the captain lose himself in whatever memory of that day he was seeing. He pitied the guy and something told him there was more to their story than Chris would tell but he wouldn’t pry. He didn’t know what Piers and Chris had gone through together just like Chris didn’t know what he and Sherry went through. 

“No body?” Jake asked, and he’s not sure why he asked.

Chris shook his head. “No body. This is an empty grave.”

Jake frowned and put his hand flat down on the grass beside Piers’ grave, a thank you of sorts. He couldn’t imagine the pain Piers had probably gone through while under the effects of the enhanced C-virus. How hard it must have been to fight off the virus that was eating away at himself. 

Jake couldn’t help but think if his blood might have helped Piers recover. Sure the guy had been nothing but a pain in his neck the entire time he knew him— always going along with his banter and letting Jake know that he did not like him— but he also helped save his ass numerous times and had saved the world from the wrath of HAOS. Plus, Jake hadn’t exactly been the nicest person to him. Maybe if he were nicer, their relationship could have been different but he had been so done with that day and desperate to get away that he didn’t care who he insulted. He didn’t think that he would one day run into these people again and have them save his ass... again,

Piers Nivans was a good man by Jake’s book.

If only he had the time to tell him.

**Author's Note:**

> I miss Piers


End file.
